USA – Airlines have cut two million seats from May schedules within the past two weeks as concerns build that the Iran war could cut jet fuel supplies to ‘critically low levels’.
Iran resumed hostilities last night, launching missiles at US ships and oil storage sites in the United Arab Emirates – causing another spike in the price of crude.
However, airlines have already begun taking action in anticipation that the conflict will continue.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s Parliament Speaker, said yesterday that breaches of the four-week-old ceasefire by the US and its allies had endangered shipping and energy transit, adding that ‘we have not even begun yet’ in the battle to control the Strait.
The total number of seats available across all global carriers in May has fallen from 132 million to 130 million between mid and late April, according to analytics firm Cirium.
Gulf airlines such as Qatar, Etihad and Emirates have been worst-hit by Middle East airspace closures and airport disruption since February 28 as well as rising fuel costs.
European operators Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and SAS have also cut schedules in recent weeks – while US airline Spirit has gone out of business following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of global crude supply passes.
Lufthansa had the most seat cancellations after cutting 20 000 flights between May and October, with Air China second after axing internal services, reported the FT.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has warned rivals of Europe’s biggest airline are now ‘desperately’ searching for flights to cancel and are expected to do so within weeks.
It comes as a fragile truce in the Middle East came under strain yesterday morning after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Gulf while wrestling for control of the strait.
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